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Category: Heroin Addiction

Jacqueline Zanfagna Featured on 129 A Day

jackieJackie Zanfagna’s struggles became evident before her 10th birthday. Some called her a “difficult teen” but her mother, Anne Marie, and her father, Jim, knew that Jackie was struggling with a medical condition and desperately needed treatment. Her parents sought help from countless doctors to no avail. Jackie had bipolar tendencies. When she was at her best, she was a bright, engaged girl who loved animals, fashion, and cared fiercely for her niece and nephew. When she was at her worst, her self-esteem plummeted and she was prone to fits of rage. Her parents were left to patch the walls where her fist had bust the plaster.

Jackie’s suffering went undiagnosed. Anne Marie, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, began noticing that her pain medication was missing and eventually valuables started disappearing too. When the Zanfagna’s realized that they couldn’t trust their daughter or her friends, they changed their locks, installed an alarm system, and got a guard dog.

Jackie survived one overdose but was so deeply ashamed that she pushed away the people who cared about her the most. Somehow, in the midst of what seemed a plummeting spiral, Jackie found some solid ground at the age of 25.

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President Obama and Macklemore Talk About Addiction

Remarks of President Barack Obama and Macklemore as Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
The White House
May 14, 2016

THE PRESIDENT:  Hi, everybody.  I’ve got a special guest with me this week – Macklemore.  For those of you who don’t share the same love[i] for hip-hop, he’s a Grammy-winning artist – but he’s also an advocate who’s giving voice to a disease we too often just whisper about: the disease of addiction.

MACKLEMORE:  Hey, everybody.  I’m here with President Obama because I take this personally.  I abused prescription drugs and battled addiction.  If I hadn’t gotten the help I needed when I needed it, I might not be here today.  And I want to help others facing the same challenges I did. Read More

Fourteen Angels of Addictions

Anne Marie Zanfagna displayed 14 portraits of Angels of Addictions that she has completed at the monthly support meeting at Mercy Street in Plaistow, NH, last night. Anne Marie’s painting have drawn the attention of the media and she and her work have been featured in few stories in the news.

Display of Portraits

Currently, Anne Marie has approximately 25 more portraits she is working on. Her paintings are form of art therapy, not only for herself but for all of the families and friends of the Angels lost to heroin addiction that she has painted including her own daughter Jackie Zanfagna, who died of an overdose in October 2014.

Anne Marie’s mission is show the real faces of addiction, not statistics. She hopes to garner support for more treatment options and recovery facilities, while lessening the stigma attached to heroin addiction. As Anne Marie’s portfolio of portraits continues to grow, Anne Marie would like to display her paintings where those responsible for passing legislation that would help addicts and their families, will see them, State Houses and the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

WMUR’s Chronicle: Thursday, February 11th: Angels of Addiction

Thursday’s edition of WMUR’s Chronicle is available to watch online here:  February 11th: Angels of Addiction:

“A Plaistow mom is using her art to help heal. Anne Marie Zanfagna’s daughter Jackie was a victim of the heroin and opioid crisis facing our state. Now Anne Marie is keeping the faces of those lost, alive, and through her art she has found her voice and a way to help others.”
WMUR Photo

WMUR Photo

The outpouring of love and support for my work is so heartening. I’ve received more requests for portraits since this aired and anticipate as more people watch online I will continue to receive requests.

Please consider a donation to Angels of Addictions Startup Fund on GoFundMe to help pay for art supplies, the website and startup costs for a nonprofit (see the Wishlist on GoFundMe).

My goal is to take the portraits I am painting on a traveling exhibit to State Houses around the country and Capitol Hill in effort to raise awareness, provide solace and healing, to help erase the stigma of heroin addiction and most importantly get more help for our children as the heroin epidemic continues to grow.

Love and light… Anne Marie Zanfagna

In The News: OD Victims’ Parents Tell Their Stories

Eagle Tribune Photo: Ryan Hutton Staff Photographer

Eagle Tribune Photo: Ryan Hutton Staff Photographer

The Lawrence Eagle Tribune has a new article in its ongoing series on Heroin Addiction, The Heroin Crisis, highlighting the upcoming “special episode of Phil Lahey’s addiction awareness television show, “The Empty Chair,” set to air on Methuen Community Television this week.” Phil Lahey show is co-hosted with his daughter Colleen Lahey, who has been clean for seven years.

The hour-long special of “The Empty Chair” is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, and at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, on http://www.methuentv.org

Angels Of Addictions founder James Zanfagna, is one of the guests on the upcoming hour long episode and is featured in the Eagle Tribune article: OD victims’ parents tell their stories.